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Saturday, 31 August 2013

Visit beautiful Bangladesh with me..........

In my novel, The Dark Side of a Promise, much of the action takes place in one
of the youngest countries in the world, Bangladesh, particularly in its capital
of Dhaka and the District of Bhola.

Why, you might ask?

As you will discover in my story,
the man that Drake Alexander seeks, the man that has senselessly taken the life
of his best friend’s sister has eluded them and the law for three years. He surfaces in Asia. Bartolommeo
Rizzato is a ruthless criminal that does other men’s dirty deeds, a gangster
for hire. His employer is blinded by revenge. Bangladesh is home to the second
largest population of people that practise Islam, it is perfect for his plans.

In my opinion, Bangladesh is one of
the most intriguing countries in the world. I’ll tell you why I feel that way.

We Canadians are far removed from
this country halfway around the world knowing little of its people, its
geography, its history and its past struggle for independence. We’ve been
shocked by the recent deaths in the thriving garment industry which provides
three quarters of its export industry. The collapse of the Rana Plaza building
claimed 1100 lives. The Tarzeen Factory fire took another 117 souls. There are
over 14,000 garment factories, not all are regulated by the government which
has neither the money nor the staff to impose stricter laws. While these
unfortunate events have claimed the news and our imagination, the country is
much more than that.

In 1947 when the British Empire
withdrew from India, the state of Bengal was divided. The west was claimed by
the newly partitioned India, the east by the new country of Pakistan.

A nine
month war in 1971 created an independent country call the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh. In the Bengali language the name means “Country of Bengal”.
Estimates of those massacred during the short war range from 30,000 to 3
million, we will never know the real number. It has endured many military
coups, famine, poverty and political unrest until democracy was restored in
1991.Although the political parties to
this day remain bitterly opposed, the country has experienced relative calm and
economic progress.

Bangladesh is in the low lying
Ganges Delta, bordered to the south by the Bay of Bengal. It straddles the Tropic
of Cancer. Unfortunately it is vulnerable to climate change which contributes many
natural calamities like tropical cyclones, floods, tornadoes and tidal bores
happen almost every year. Most of its land is less than twelve meters above sea
level. If the waters would rise by as little as one meter it is estimated that
10% of the country would be flooded. There are claims that the water laced country
has over 700 rivers. Boats are not only a necessity but a way of live for many
of its inhabitants.

The most extreme flooding the world
has ever seen occurred in 1998. Three of their mightiest rivers, the
Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Meghna overflowed destroying 300,000 homes,
2700 kms of embankment, 11000 kms of roads, thousands of cattle were killed.
Over 1000 people died and 30 million were made homeless.

In addition the country is prone to
cyclones. In 1970, a major storm claimed a half a million lives. In 1919
another took 140,000 more. Hardships we can only imagine.

However, not all is doom and gloom.

Bangladesh is a developing country. The poverty rate
has declined by 25% since 1991.

The largest deep sea port in Southeast Asia is being
established at a cost of 500 billion taka.

It is home to one of the largest river ports in the
world, Sadarghat Port on the Buriganga River in the city of Dhaka. According to
officials, over 50,000 people on average come and go every day.

It is the fourth largest producer of rice in the
world, second largest producer of jute.

The largest shopping mall in Southeast Asia, the
thirteenth in the world, is located in Dhaka.

The country hosts the world’s second largest gathering
of Muslims during the Bishwa Ijtema, where millions gather to pray for peace
and supplication.

Weavers from a guild in Dhaka are renowned for saris
produced from exquisite Jamdani muslin.

It has a rich literary culture with many famous writers
such as Tahmima Anam, Shamsur
Rahman, Haripada Datta, and Shahed
Alito name only a few.

The national cricket team won gold at the first
cricket tournament ever held at the 2010
Asian Games, defeating Afghanistan.

It is home to the largest mangrove forest in the world
as well as a diverse selection of flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger.

The national bird is
the Magpie Robin known as Doyal and it appears on currency notes.
The national flower is the Shapla, a
white-flowering water lily. The national tree is the Mango. The national fruit
is the Jackfruit.

There is much hope in this small
country, people dream of better things, foreign investment brings better lives.
The land is one of a rare beauty. I am indebted to an incredible photographer, Ihtisham Kabir for exposing me to the
splendour of the countryside, to the vibrant colors and the people. You can
find his photos at www.bangladeshimages.com

I have recently discovered an
exceptional writer from Bangladesh who now resides in Sweden, Dilruba Z. Ara, whose works have been
acclaimed universally and are studied at different universities across the
world. Here is her website:www.dilrubazara.com

Please visit their sites for a
journey of discovery, you won`t be disappointed.

Next week, 4Q will be interviewing Yves Chiasson,

musician, songwriter, founding member of the popular Acadian rock group, Zero Celsius.

7 comments:

Again you have an excellent piece here Allen. Have you ever thought of freelancing for travelogues. You might also consider shooting this off to the Bangladesh Tourism agencies. At any rate you have the facts, have told the uninformed a story of hope and struggle, and at the same time kept the reader's attention...a tough job these days.Well done!

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Allan Hudson

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I started writing later in life, inspired by one of my favorite authors, Bryce Courtenay, who began his writing career in his mid-fifties. It has been one of my most rewarding pastimes. I’ve been an avid reader all my life. It started with Dick & Jane – a primary reader my mother brought home from her work – she was a school teacher and taught me to read at an early age.

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5 Star review for Shattered Figurine

The opening chapter presents the detective, Jo Naylor, with a very important question. One she didn’t really want to answer but knows she must.

The next chapter, one year later, hits you square in the face with full on complicated and violent action as we discover what this story is all about.

Shattered Figurines is a surprisingly unusual detective story in that it doesn’t follow the usual plotline for this genre and the characters aren’t run of the mill either. The author has captured a very real element in both the story and the characters and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I love a good detective mystery story and Shattered Figurines is one of the best I have read this year. I shall be first in the queue when the author writes another one in this series.

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Shattered Figurine. She sold it at a yard sale four years ago, when she was thirty-seven, and she remembers who bought it. She hadn’t given it a thought since then. In her mind, there had been no reason to. The message this morning changed that. She can’t ignore the possibility, no matter how horrific it seems. She prays silently that she be proven wrong" Click on the photo to read a brief excerpt. Thank you for your support.

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My story - The Ship Breakers - received Honorable Mention in the Douglas Kyle Memorial awards for New Brunswick Writers Federation's short story category. Published in 2018 in A Box of Memories, a collection of delightful and entertaining short stories.